Some say home is where the heart is, but what if the heart in your home is the "Tell-Tale Heart"?

Houses can be reservoirs of joy . . . or misery. When this affective power endures, a place is said to be "haunted." When this energy for good or evil continues-especially when it touches people who were not involved in the primary circumstance which occurred in that location-then a place is considered alive. Places, then, may serve as portals through which a person can enter into the past, both psychically and physically; moreover, the effects of a place upon a person may influence what happens going forward. Places are causes, and they are effects.

One's home is a special Place, and yet even your home may be infused with doubtful associations. At the end of a stressful day at work, you may want to run home-to the house that functions as a harbor, shelter, or castle; on the other hand, a home is sometimes a place to run away from, a cage or a trap. Perhaps the best we can do is hope that we live in a benevolent house.

Shunned Houses delves into that larger realm through more than three dozen classic and contemporary short stories, poems, and essays by masters of the craft.